When the Old Window Is the Problem
Some Baltimore basements already have an egress window — installed decades ago, when the basement was finished the first time. Then time does its work. Wood frames rot in the damp. Steel frames rust. The crank strips. The window paints shut, layer by layer, until it does not open at all. A window that does not open is not an egress window. It is a picture of one.
Other old windows were never code-sized to begin with. The rules tightened over the years, and a window that passed in 1985 may not meet today's minimums. If your window is undersized, stuck, or rotting, replacement is the fix — usually faster and cleaner than a fresh cut, because the opening is already there.
What Replacement Involves
We pull the old unit, inspect the opening, and repair the framing as needed — old openings often need the sill rebuilt or the sides reframed before the new window goes in. Then we set the new window to today's code minimums: at least 5.7 square feet of clear opening, 20 inches wide, 24 inches tall, sill no more than 44 inches off the floor. We flash and seal it like a new install, because water does not care that the opening is old.
While we are there, we look hard at the well. Old wells are where replacements go wrong: a new window over a rusted-out, undrained well is money half spent. If the well needs rebuilding, we will tell you before we quote — see window well installation.
Casement vs. Slider for Replacements
Most replacement egress windows are casements or sliders. Casements crank open and give you the full frame as clear opening — the easiest way to hit 5.7 square feet in a modest opening. Sliders glide and work well in wider, shorter openings. We measure your existing opening and recommend the style that meets code with the least reframing. Details on each: casement egress windows and sliding egress windows.
The Painted-Shut Special
We see this constantly in Baltimore's older homes: a basement window with twenty years of paint sealing it to the frame. The fix is not a putty knife — it is a new window. If your basement windows do not open today, assume they are not egress, and get them replaced before someone needs them to be.
How It Works: Our Process
Step 1 — Free visit. We check the old window, the opening, the frame, and the well.
Step 2 — Written estimate. Window, reframing, well work if needed — itemized.
Step 3 — Swap day. Old unit out, opening repaired, new window set, flashed, and sealed. Usually one day.
Step 4 — Walkthrough. We show you the open-and-close and the escape path, and confirm the clear opening meets the minimums.
When the Opening Itself Needs Work
Sometimes the old window comes out and the opening behind it tells a story. The wood framing is soft with rot. The sill plate crumbles. The opening was cut crooked forty years ago and the window never sat right. Or the opening is just too small — the old window never met code, and the new one needs more room.
We fix the opening before the new window goes in. Rotted framing gets cut out and replaced with pressure-treated lumber. A failed sill gets rebuilt. A crooked opening gets squared. If the opening needs to grow to meet today's minimums, we cut it bigger — same saws, same care as a fresh opening, just less of it.
This is the step that separates a real replacement from a swap. A new window in a rotten opening is a new problem wearing an old problem's clothes — it will leak, stick, or sag within a couple of years. We would rather spend the extra hour on the opening than come back for the callback. During the free visit we probe the existing frame and tell you honestly what the opening needs, so the quote covers it upfront instead of surprising you mid-job.
One more thing we check: the wall around the opening. Old leaks leave stains, and stains tell us where water has been getting in. If the flashing failed above the old window, we fix the flashing path — not just the window. Water remembers the way in; our job is to make it forget.
Call (301) 679-9193 or send the form below for your free written estimate.